July 19, 2011

(note: the part names I use below all come from the pylon assembly document which Forgeworld kindly provides with the kit)

Fist, glue the main crystal clamps to the gun rail. So far so easy.

Then glue the cannon to the gun rail. You'll notice a gap between the clamps and the cannon. Do not try and glue them as is – with the tension all you'll get is parts separating again promptly. Rather, use the resin worker's best friend: the hair dryer. A few quick passes over the clamps and they'll be soft enough that they can be bent into placed and glued.

Maintain them in place while they cool down (it doesn't take very long). Presto, a strong joint.

(note: be gentle with the hair dryer, you don't want to melt the resin. The bottom of the clamp has a hollow where the green plastic rod goes - this is quite a thin part and can easily collapse on itself.)

Onto the cannon muzzle. As you'll see below, the thing does not fit nicely onto the crystal.

Back to the hair dryer it is. You'll have to hold the muzzle if you don't want it to get blown halfway across the room. Unfortunately the hair dryer expels rather hot air. I've found that holding the piece to warm up between two layers of kitchen roll will keep your fingers nicely cool.

Again the above advice applies: don't overuse the dryer! Better to do several passes until the muzzle is flexible enough to fit onto the crystal, using gentle pressure. Just maintain it in place until it's cold, then glue it on.

For the last part, the side crystal clamps, follow the same process as before. They will likely be too short, a gentle spot of warming (again, use kitchen towels to hold them) will ensure they glue in nicely.

And that's it. The pylon assembly is complete.

One last tip: the turntable will likely be loose inside the base centre, resulting in a leaning pylon. Just stick Scotch tape onto the turntable until you get a good fit. The tape is thin enough that you can get quite precise results. I would not advocate using thicker tape here (like electrical tape).